AI engineering glossary · Data structures algorithms
What is DAG (directed acyclic graph)?
Directed acyclic graph (also called DAG): A graph whose edges have a direction and that has no path leading from a node back to itself. It represents ordered dependencies, such as tasks that must finish before others begin.
Directed acyclic graph: an example
A data pipeline where 'clean' must precede 'train' and 'train' must precede 'evaluate' forms a DAG, and any valid run order is a topological order.
Related terms
More Data structures algorithms terms
- Divide and conquer
- Doubly linked list
- Dynamic array
- Dynamic programming
- Edit distance
- Fenwick tree
- Floyd-Warshall algorithm
- Graph
Where you learn it
Directed acyclic graph is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.